Boston's current mayor, Thomas M. Menino, told the Globe he considered White's leadership instrumental in making Boston what it is today

“He was a giant among mayors,” Menino said."Kevin left an indelible mark that will never, ever, be replaced.”

The Herald featured long-time city councilor Mike Ross reminiscing how White led Boston at a time when many major American cities were experiencing decline. “His ability to move Boston forward, in large part due to the creation of Faneuil Hall, is part of the reason for Boston’s success today."

While the busing crisis brought a black spot to the city, White was also revitalizing the city's downtown, especially the shops and restaurants of Quincy Market, which to this day remain one of the city's top tourist attractions. He thought the downtown renaissance would make Boston a "world-class city."

A statue of White was unveiled near Quincy Market in 2006.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. on Friday night issued the following statement on White's passing:

“This is one of those passings that really marks the passage of time for my generation. We all came of age in Kevin White’s Boston. For 16 years, the mayor shepherded the city through the turbulence of the late 60’s and mid-70’s and in the process ushered in the remarkable city we know today. He was a pied piper who drew idealistic, brilliant young people from Barney Frank to Micho Spring into public citizenship and into City Hall. He was a great and gentle intellect who knew how to wisely wield the power of the Mayor's office for the public good. Kevin White’s own slogan is now almost a postscript, because now we all remember a leader who was ‘in love with the city.’ You think of Kevin White’s two great loves tonight, his wife of 55 years Kathryn, and the city of Boston.”

White, an Irish Catholic from a family of politicians, is credited with revitalizing Boston's downtown and seeing the city through court-ordered busing, but he ended his four-term tenure in 1983 under a cloud of ethics suspicions.

White, a Democrat, was elected Massachusetts secretary of state three times before running for mayor for the first time in 1967 against antibusing activist Louise Day Hicks. He defeated her with support from the black community and liberals.

After losing a 1970 bid for governor, White was re-elected mayor in 1971, again defeating Hicks. He won again narrowly in 1975 and 1979.

White was considered as a vice presidential running mate to Sen. George McGovern in 1972 but was passed over for Missouri Sen. Thomas Eagleton, who was later shunted aside for R. Sargent Shriver Jr.

After U.S. District Court Judge W. Arthur Garrity ordered busing to desegregate public schools in 1974, White protected schoolchildren from violence with federal and state assistance during the period of crisis and in 1976 led a march of 30,000 to protest racial violence.

White was never totally comfortable with busing, however, and called Garrity's plan "too severe."

"I wish I knew a way to have taught Garrity or convinced Garrity to be more generous ... or softer in his implementation of that order," White said after his time as mayor.